The Lady Is Tempted

by Cathy Maxwell

Sometimes the opportunity to misbehave is very tempting indeed, even for the most well-bred young lady.

Marry the local vicar — a stodgy man with six impossible children — never! Deborah Percival is determined to discover passion in a man’s arms, not duty in a dull marriage. And when she becomes stranded at a countryside inn, tantalizing Anthony Aldercy, the Earl of Burnell, offers her the chance to fulfill her dreams. Deborah knows she should say no — but how can she resist?

The Lady is tempted...

The earl is determined to repair his roguish reputation — and a marriage to a demure highborn lady of the ton will do this — but he cannot deny Deborah’s charms. Her lush curves tease his senses, while her delicious honesty touches his heart. But when she disappears, he’s desperate, so he searches all of London to find her, refusing to rest until he brings her into his life — and his arms — again.

Perhaps Deborah is not the only one being tempted...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Forced Proximity, Family Drama

357 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

CATHY MAXWELL spends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, "Why do people fall in love?" It remains for her the mystery of life and the secret to happiness.

She lives in beautiful West Virginia where she is having the time of her life.

Visit her on Instagram, Twitter, FB, and TikTok at maxwellcathy (Yes, some other Cathy Maxwell nabbed the handle. However, she does own www.cathymaxwell.com and she'd love for you to swing by.)

Reviews

[D.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book when it first came out in 2002 and loved it. At the time, I was a beginner to historical romance so I found the whole situation really angsty and heartbreaking. In this second round, not so much. I guess I've read enough historical romance in the last 10 years that I've become more discriminating (some would say pickier.)

Deborah and Tony become lovers the first night they meet and quickly fall in love, but alas their romance is doomed from the beginning. Tony just got engaged to the most beautiful debutant of the season and cannot cry off. You see, Tony's family has been mired in scandal and he's been craving respectability all his life. He definitely doesn't want to give us his chance to clean up his family name. However, Deborah doesn't want to be his mistress, no matter that he says she'll be the woman of his heart. So starts a back and forth where he's not taking no for an answer and never thinks how devastating it will be for HER not to be respectable woman anymore (you would think that in his situation, he would sympathize.)

The problem was solved very conveniently without any intervention from the leads, which I don't like because I prefer when characters take an active role in solving their own problems.

Not the worst historical I've read but I'm definitely removing it from my 'favorites' list.

[Elis Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a dark and stormy night. No, really, it was. Which is how proper, penniless widow Deborah Percival, on the way to help one of her two penniless married sisters, finds herself stranded, one of two guests in the home of an elderly lady.

Her journey came at an opportune time, as she was about to let the bossy and extremely unlikeable "grande dame" in her village boss her into marrying the local vicar—a man she dislikes.



…who has a passel of children everybody dislikes.



The other guest, Anthony Aldercy, Earl of Burnell, has just betrothed himself in a marriage of convenience to the daughter of a powerful, if somewhat financially strained lord.



He's on the way to settle some last minute business before the wedding when he, too, is stranded by the storm.



After a pleasant holiday while the storm rages, she's in love (because great sex is ALL it takes for women to be in love). And he's decided it'd be cool to have her as his mistress (cuz the marriage of convenience is still on). His argument (because THIS makes sense): If he jilts the earl's daughter to marry her, she'll be a social outcast and so will their children (because it'll be SO much more socially acceptable if she's an adulteress and the kids are bastards).

If you're happy with a book that's all about the relationship and the whole "she loves him but she can't deal with being his ho," and "he loves her, but he has his reasons not to make an honest woman of her" thing, then this will spin your wheels. It's a good book, just not my cup of tea. Tho I did enjoy seeing the final confrontation with the bossy old biddy.

3 stars.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lady is Tempted is one of Cathy Maxwell's earlier stand-alone novels. I have a few of her books on my unread shelf and this one caught my attention. Forced proximity (ie. stranded in a snowstorm, rainstorm, etc.) is my catnip, and this book just hit all the right notes for me... probably because the book I read before this was a dark romance with a torturous forced proximity trope (Untouched by Anna Campbell). So compared to that book, this was light and airy and just as steamy.

We first meet Deborah Percival when she attends an afternoon soiree with her sister. Being a widow and her mourning period complete, Deborah becomes the focus of all the busybody matrons who try to talk her in to marrying Parson Ames because his wife died and he needs someone to take care of his six children. Not at all enthused, Deborah gently declines, but her younger stepsister Rachel and her husband are pushing for the match. In their eyes, Deborah has overstayed her welcome and they want her married off and out of the house. But a letter arrives from her other stepsister, Lizbet, asking Deborah to come to London as soon as possible. Eager to escape the machinations of courtship, Deborah begins her journey.

Meanwhile, Anthony Aldercy, fifth Earl of Burnell has just engaged himself to Lady Amelia purely for social connections in a deal with her father. Although she is society's diamond of the season, Tony sees it merely as a business arrangement and has no interest in the girl fresh from the schoolroom.

Cue the rainstorm! When Tony is on his way to his country estate, and Deborah on her way to London, both get stranded when the rain washes out a bridge on the main thoroughfare and they end up at the same house to weather the storm. When they meet, it's an instant attraction and Tony is determined to know Deborah better. At dinner that night, Tony is smitten and the lady is indeed tempted to throw aside all her worries and sense of duty to have just one night she can look back on as an amazing adventure. Tony quickly learns that Deborah had been in a loveless, arranged marriage and promises to give her an amazing night she won't ever forget.

When one night turns into three before the bridge is repaired, passion flows, and Tony and Deborah are inseparable. But what happens when the bridge is repaired and they leave to go their separate ways?

So I'm not usually one for the insta-love/insta-lust trope but I really liked this one. Tony knew there was an instant connection and he wanted to explore it, but Deborah was hesitant because she's always been the responsible one, doing the right thing for the right reasons. I would never call her a doormat but she was treated pretty crappy by both stepsisters and their husbands. Deborah was a strong woman, now finally freed of her loveless marriage and she wanted to embrace that independence. Plus, not only were her stepsisters spoiled and entitled, they were afforded the opportunities to marry for love thanks to Deborah's dutiful match to Mr. Percival. Now Deborah just wanted a little piece of what they had for herself. But Tony was honor-bound to his pending marriage to Lady Amelia, unbeknownst to Deborah. When they meet again in London, he invites her to accompany him to Vauxhall Gardens for an evening and things are progressing nicely when he confesses he loves her. But before she can say anything, they run into Lady Amelia. Forcing Tony to tell Deborah of the marriage, he offers her carte blanche as his mistress. The rest of the story is the push and pull between honor and dignity, marriage and mistress. Tony does not want to lose Deborah, but his honor is at stake so he can't break the arranged marriage. And Deborah doesn't want to be second, nor does she want to share. This creates the tension pulling and pushing them into each other's arms.

When Tony's parents unexpectedly invite themselves to his country estate, Tony isn't pleased, but discovering the truth about his past helps him move into the future when he sees for himself that maybe 'love is everything' after all.

I really adored this book and I loved Tony and Deborah's chemistry and there is a lot of steam! I also appreciated Tony's honesty once he told Deborah about his marriage. Tony loved Deborah and he told her so, many times in many ways, and wanted nothing more than to have her with him and make her happy. While his reasoning for not breaking the marriage agreement may not be everyone's cup of tea, if you take a step back in time, it is how things were done. Men in power married for connections and many prioritized their mistresses once their duty was fulfilled. Not the most romantic, no, but Tony makes the effort to keep Deborah happy until she realizes that she will never truly have all of him. Deborah knew all about duty and respected him for it, but he needed to respect her desires too. I loved when she told him for the last time she couldn't be his mistress and why. Hearts were breaking... Theirs and mine. But a happily every after does happen once Tony comes to his senses, and in a twist of fate, Lady Amelia finds hers too.

This was a very enjoyable read. 5 stars from me because this one just checked all the boxes. The writing was concise and flowed easy with lots of dialogue, and the character-driven plot is always welcome in my book. And while this was a lighter read in the big scheme of things, there were emotional highs and sad lows that evened out into a romance that even Tony's closest family couldn't help but root for. Steam in this story is a 3.5 rounded to 4 🔥🔥🔥🔥. This book will be next on my 'to annotate' list and I look forward to reading more by this author.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe more like 2.5 stars

I was not overly impressed with the writing. It was rather pedestrian, although readable.

This book was written in 2002, and as much as I hate to admit it, that was fully 20 years ago! In other words, parts have not aged well. There were several scenes in which consent was somewhat dicey, including their first night together. Tony was kind of a spoiled brat who wouldn’t take no for an answer. This theme ran as an undercurrent throughout the whole novel, too. He agrees to a marriage of convenience to a debutante he’s never met on a whim, and then stubbornly refuses to back out, even though he “loves” our heroine and she’s a respectable widow who wants and deserves marriage. No, he thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to set her up as his mistress, despite the ramifications for both women AND any future children he has with either one.(At one point, he even tells the h that he would love her children more... “father of the year” material right there.) What makes this even more messed up is that he has his own issues with his absentee parents, and a mother who committed adultery. He flat out hasn’t spoken to her in years because she’s supposedly such a horrible person, but he wants to live his life in the EXACT same way and sees zero hypocrisy in it.

Ugh...I think I’ve talked myself into a lower rating. Lol

Last thing is a small pet peeve. The heroine’s name is a Deborah, but Tony starts calling her “Deb” almost right away, and I just didn’t like it. Maybe I have bias because that’s my sister’s name, and she never liked to be called Deb, but it’s just not a romantic sounding name, especially for the Regency era. Deborah is actually a lovely name, and I wish the author had just stuck with it. If Tony had to have a nickname for her (to show how their relationship was special as opposed to all of the other relationships in her life), it should have been something completely unrelated to her name.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah Percival never knew passion with her late husband. But when she meets Lord Anthony Aldercy at an inn on the way to visit her sister in London, she’s immediately attracted to the rakish earl. Yielding to a night of lust brings her many regrets, so she heads on her way. But Tony isn’t about to let her escape so easily. Smitten by the forthright widow and able to heal in her presence from an unhappy childhood, he tracks her down. Even though he’s engaged to another, he wants more of Deborah. And so he makes her an indecent proposal. Will she succumb to his tempting offer and accept, or will she maintain the little self-respect she has left? This engaging romance is a charming read.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's either hit or miss for me with Cathy Maxwell books; and I'm sorry to say that this book was a miss. I didn't like that Deborah became Anthony's mistress, so fast. Even though she fought some, she still went to him.
After Deborah's grieving time is over for her husband, her brother-in-law's aunt is ready to marry her off to a vicar with 6 rowdy children. Deborah wanted to find her own love, live her own life.
Even though Anthony was engaged, he still wanted Deborah in his life.

[Mira Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm… I loved the honesty in this book. A woman who did have only bad options chose to be with the man she loved even he could not offer her marriage. She accepted to be her mistress. But I hated how pathetic it made her feel when she was constantly fishing him to marry her, that being a mistress wasn’t enough. Of course it wasn’t but she’d made her choice. Yes, a marriage was only thing for a woman back in those days but I hate to read a woman being desperate to marry, like Deborah in this story. This was a good story but desperation made it something I couldn’t really like.
So in a way thing that made me like this book also made me dislike it. How strange.

And Anthony’s mother and real father. I didn’t like how easily he gave in to his father. I hoped he would’ve really send them away and maybe contact them after thinking things through. They invaded his home, they should have left when he told them to. Anthony should not have accepted to sit down to the dinner with them. Yeah, churlish, but his mother had done him wrong. Yet another pitiful woman due to circumstances of the things were back then. Yes the book was honest, needed more angst pull it through.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an extremely predictable book with a handsome wealthy Earl and a lonely widow who meet in seclusion and spend the rest of the book trying to get together. Deborah Percevil is a woman who always does the right thing. A horrible storm puts her in the path of Anthony Aldercy, an Earl, but she realizes that he will never have a long term relationship with her, but will instead seek her as a mistress. They have to figure out the nature of their relationship. Overall, this book follows a romance formula within that formulaic historical romance style.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a reread of a book that I read long before my time on Goodreads, and I remember liking it quite a lot. I can see why I used to love it, but it's only so so for me now. Not bad, but not great.

[Suzanne Bourgeois]

This did a pretty good job in the historical context. I was very impressed. Super cute romance as well. I liked the characters and the how they developed throughout the story.

[Patti Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s harder to break out of expectations and roles the world has for us than the young will admit. It is no wonder that this heroine is conflicted.

[Kimberlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time with this author. Cute story. Liked it

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

To escape the idea of being forced to marry to local parson and raise his bratty children Deborah gets rained in at a countryside inn on the way to see her sister in London, where she meets and is instantly attracted to the recently engaged Tony. She wants a thrill for once in her life and decides to throw caution to the wind spending the few nights they are stranded with Tony. When she leaves for London Tony searches the city for her only to offer her the position of mistress, needless to say she's hurt but wants him.
There was a lot of back and forth in this one and it took Tony far to long to get over himself(a lot). I liked that Deb kept standing up for herself but the lack of backbone to follow through did get a bit annoying before the end.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book that had parts that did not set right with me. I wish it had been better.

[Paul Hinkley]

Very good

[Minaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is awesome😍😍

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I don't usually enjoy the love at first sight idea, Deb and Tony's story is one that I find acceptable. Even when they first meet and the connection is immediately established that is not the end to their growth as a couple, as is so often the case with love at first sight stories. Even while coming from different situations the two are very much kindred spirits through their difficult background that caused them to be almost overly responsible. That sense of responsibility is what causes the major problems for them. Even while both fall helplessly in love with each other Tony is already promised to a woman he has only met once as a business arrangement, and can not cry off with out causing problems for her. Meanwhile, Deb is devastated when she learns why Tony offered her a place as a mistress rather wife and feels that she can not live with sharing him. The relationship between Deb and Tony is shockingly deep in the span of the novel-- and I mean that in a great way. I love them and their clearly deep emotions for each other was a joy to read. At times I wanted to smack Tony for being so unable to let Deb go, even wanting to marry her, but being unwilling to call off the barely established arrangement of the wedding. Their relationship grows only more as they try to separate from each other and they both deal with the darker parts of their past.

[Trudy Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young widow Deborah Percival is trapped in a village where her life is controlled by a group of biddies who have determined that she should marry the parson with six uncontrollable children! Never; she has done her duty by marrying a man older than her father. When the chance comes for her to escape to London to help her sister, Deborah takes it. It's then that Fate steps in and traps her in Derby at the home of a widow to wait out a heavy rainstorm. There she meets the irresistible Earl of Burnell and begins a passionate affair which was suppose to last only while they waited out the storm. Unfortunately, the Earl is engaged and Deborah is on her way to London but Tony decides he can't live without her. He changes his plans, returns to London to search for Deborah and tries to persuade her to become his mistress. Deborah, however, is gently reared with high morals and isn't agreeable despite her love for Tony. Even though Tony loves her, will he break his engagement?

This story is full of humor, twists and turns, and satire. The main characters are well-drawn and the story flows well.

[Cheesecake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah and Anthony. The running theme of this one seems to be the folly of trying to live up to other's expectations. Deborah and Anthony have been indiscreet. They both care for each other, but not enough to risk their public image. This is more understandable from Deborah's point of view and I wanted to box Anthony's ears for much of the book. Other characters want to box his ears as well... But he has some learning to do. He does come through later on (of his own volition) and Deborah stands up for herself as he suggests. Then at the very end, all the angst was for not. Very humorous ending and I just loved both characters by then. Anthony fully redeems himself!
I would have given it 3 stars but the ending was perfect!

[Courtney Stasko · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sweet. A bit rushed at times and I will admit, prefer not to rush the loving scenes. They make the book and build the chemistry with the characters.

[Alegna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temptation is often not followed through in society, but Cathy Maxwell shows us how sometimes by following it can truly lead us to something so much better! A young widow wishing to marry for love and an earl engaged for power, these two meet and fall at first lust for each other. But as the days (and nights) pass by, their lust turns into something greater and more fruitful. Romance, love and just enough spunk to make you cheer for this couple to make it through.

[Linsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022
There is so much pride in this book between Deborah and Tony, and it's that and duty that keep them apart. This is a good book if you like sex scenes and angst, which I do.

2019
Wasn't until I was mostly done with the book that I figured out that I might have read it before. I am too visual of a person for books to go and get newly designed covers.

Either way, I like books where the characters have been / are being kept apart by some force and this fit that to a T.

[Olanrewaju · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. the hero and heroine were well written. the plot was great. i have never been a fan of love/sex at first sight but this was written beautifully. Tony's fiancee being in love with someone else and eloping was a bit too convenient, but that scene was funny enough to let it be overlooked. all in all, a great book that i definitely recommend.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what a choice--marry a vicar with six undisciplned children, or go for the dashing young, good-looking, wealthy earl (even if he is engaged to someone else and has a brooding secret besides).

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this as much as I liked Cathy Maxwell's other books. Mainly because the earl is supposedly betrothed to another, but he's unable to recognize that the attraction he has for Deborah is true love.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't buy the love-at-first-sight thing, so books based on that premise will always seem particularly contrived to me. I liked the elopement scene a lot, though.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regency

[Rachael T Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book you are nevertold to love

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. A quick read with a predictable ending and no surprises, but enjoyable all the same.